1
2
as in populace
the body of the community as contrasted with the elite
tensions mounted until the people rose up in rebellion
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in family
a group of persons who come from the same ancestor
introduced my new boyfriend to my people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to inhabit
to supply with inhabitants
a science-fiction novel about a mission to people Mars
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of people
Arkansas Online, 16 Feb. 2026
So too do the lengthy detentions some people experience in massive detention centers.
—Zoe Sottile, CNN Money, 16 Feb. 2026
Meaghan Garvey, Pitchfork, 13 Feb. 2025
Colonies founded by charters to private companies and peopled by restless dreamers gave us an entrepreneurial spirit from the outset.
—The Editors, National Review, 28 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for people
Plural noun
Social service agencies could authorize case workers to forcibly enter a home and check up on people's children.
—Arkansas Online, 16 Feb. 2026
So too do the lengthy detentions some people experience in massive detention centers.
—Zoe Sottile, CNN Money, 16 Feb. 2026
Verb
By Meaghan Garvey February 13, 2025 Image by Chris Panicker, photo by Chris Weeks/WireImage
Know that all of Nature is but a magic theater,
that the great Mother is the master magician,
and that this whole world is peopled by her many parts.
—Meaghan Garvey, Pitchfork, 13 Feb. 2025
Colonies founded by charters to private companies and peopled by restless dreamers gave us an entrepreneurial spirit from the outset.
—The Editors, National Review, 28 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for people
Recent Examples of Synonyms for people
Verb
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And yet, all throughout that time, Earth was not just inhabited, but life was thriving and rapidly evolving on the surface, despite all the physical, chemical, and biological changes that have occurred over those geologically long timescales.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
17 Feb. 2026
-
For the first 30 years of his life in the Dead, Weir inhabited different roles.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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These very early prehistoric burials in southern England and Wales, because of their northern location, haven’t generally survived due to the glaciers that populated the area during the Ice Age.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Feb. 2026
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Many of the young and highly educated cohorts who populate the portions of the left most suspicious of universal liberal values are also among those least likely to identify as religious believers.—
Christopher Beha,
New Yorker,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“People.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/people. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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